I became the Open Source Saint Ancestor in the Cultivation World

"Go and bring me that younger brother she mentioned. Also, send someone to investigate the outer sect to see if anyone else knows about this technique."

Lu Zongyan didn't even glance at Shen Ninghua, who was completely unaware of what was happening, and directly gave the order.

Several law enforcement officers immediately obeyed the order and went to carry out their duties.

At this moment, the enforcement elder had collected all the cultivation techniques from the disciples' hands, and the scene returned to a deathly silence.

Lu Zongyan's sharp gaze swept over the disciples, and he said in a loud voice, "I know that the person who sold this technique in Red Leaf Valley that day must be among you."

"You were unaware of the value of this technique, which was an unintentional mistake, and I will not hold it against you. However, the fact that you are selling this technique indicates that you are short of funds. If you step forward now, I will still consider it a great service for you and will not be stingy with rewards."

"Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, twenty thousand contribution points, and three high-grade magic artifacts. Of course, if you have any other requests, please feel free to mention them, and I will do my best to fulfill them."

The crowd below remained quiet.

Lu Zongyan frowned slightly, his voice turning cold: "I know the cultivation technique is yours, but you've already put it out for sale, and so many people already know about it. What's there to hide? Are you worried that I'd harm you in front of everyone?"

"This cultivation technique concerns the rise and fall of my Ziyang Sect, and I must treat it with utmost care. If you continue to conceal it, then don't blame me for being ruthless and merciless."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the disciples kept their heads down, unmoved.

"Fine, very well, you really are asking for trouble." Lu Zongyan's patience had completely run out.

He shouted, "Activate the formation!"

Several elders immediately formed hand seals, and the array flags in their hands flew out and embedded themselves in the open ground not far away.

One of the elders waved his hand, and dozens of spirit stones with extremely rich spiritual energy quickly disappeared into the formation.

hum...

As the runes rotated, the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged in wildly.

"The formation begins." A screen of light slowly enveloped the area.

"Everyone, enter the formation." Lu Zongyan waved his hand, and the formation immediately opened a gate of light.

Many disciples cursed the person selling the cultivation techniques in their hearts. At this point, he was still pretending to be dead. Did he think he could escape?

Despite this, no one dared to hesitate and all entered the formation one by one.

The portal closed rapidly, and an elder shouted, "Shift the formation!"

In an instant, the disciples in the formation felt a dizzying sensation, unable to distinguish between dream and reality, and gradually became disoriented.

"Did you sell the cultivation technique?" A voice that brooked no argument rang in my ears.

"It wasn't me..."

Nobody admits it.

"Did you go to the Red Leaf Valley Market on the ninth day of the seventh lunar month?"

"I've never been there..."

"I've been there."

……

"What did you do at the Red Leaf Valley Market on the ninth day of the seventh lunar month?"

"I didn't go to Red Leaf Valley Market; I cultivated in my cave."

"I'm going to find a Jade Marrow Fungus to refine a Foundation Building Pill."

……

Lu Zongyan frowned: "They couldn't even find this person using a bewildering array."

"Impossible. Those below the Golden Core stage cannot withstand this bewitching array at all. And these disciples, apart from a few who are at the Foundation Establishment stage, are all at the Qi Refining stage. They have no chance of resisting it."

"Could it be that that person isn't among these people? How is that possible?"

Time passed slowly, and the bewildering array still hadn't helped Lu Zongyan find the person. Two Nascent Soul stage elders, a man and a woman, landed in front of him. Ding Sanjun, one of them, said, "Senior Brother Lu, if that kid isn't among these people, where is he? Could he possibly be in the outer sect?"

"But the outer sect is full of disciples in the early stage of Qi Refining. As for the managers, hall masters and elders, they are all inner sect disciples who have no hope of Foundation Establishment and have retired. If they had such cultivation techniques, why would they be trapped in the outer sect?"

Chu Lingwei said, "Since we can't find the person, should we still proceed with our previous plan?"

Lu Zongyan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Since that kid was able to obtain such a top-tier cultivation technique, who can guarantee that he doesn't possess any magical treasures or elixirs that could help him maintain his mind within the bewitching array?"

Upon hearing this, the two men's eyes lit up, and they nodded in deep agreement.

Ding Sanjun said, "If that's the case, that kid must still be in the inner sect. But there are tens of thousands of people in the inner sect. How are we going to find him?"

Lu Zongyan felt that this was the only possibility, so he said, "In that case, the plan should still proceed as scheduled, but it needs to be changed."

"How should it be changed?"

Lu Zongyan solemnly said, "Originally, we planned to select those disciples who had already cultivated but had poor aptitude, and have them take the Forget-Dust Pill, which can erase fifteen days' worth of memories. This would sever their connection with the cultivation method and prevent it from being leaked."

"And those elite disciples who are allowed to practice this technique will have a restriction placed in their minds to prevent it from being spread outside."

"But right now, that kid still can't be found among tens of thousands of disciples, so we can only use a clumsy method: plant a restriction in the minds of everyone below the Nascent Soul stage in the entire sect."

Upon hearing that such a difficult restriction was to be placed on tens of thousands of people, the two couldn't help but twitch.

"Brother Lu is absolutely right. We can't afford to gamble, so this is the safest option," Ding Sanjun said through gritted teeth.

"However, this isn't all bad. At that time, we can allow all inner disciples to cultivate this technique, instead of just a few with good aptitude as originally planned. This will also help improve the overall strength of our sect."

As he spoke, Lu Zongyan glanced at Shen Ninghua, who was still unconscious after taking the Forget-Dust Pill, and sighed softly, "But in this case, Junior Brother Ding and Junior Sister Chu will have to work hard."

Imposing such restrictions on so many people is extremely taxing on one's mental energy and spiritual essence, and requires a great deal of time. It will definitely take a considerable price to recover from it.

Chu Lingwei said with concern, "Senior brothers, such a big commotion we've made this time will definitely attract the attention of other sects. What if they suddenly attack us after we've expended too much energy?"

Although the Great Chang Kingdom was an alliance of righteous sects working together to fight against demonic and evil paths, they were secretly competing with each other, and no one wanted to see others above them.

Once they learn that the Ziyang Sect has obtained a top-tier cultivation technique, the sect's overall strength will gradually increase, and they will inevitably be restless. It's not impossible that they will unite to target the Ziyang Sect at that time.

Lu Zongyan said in a deep voice, "If they want to unite and attack us, it won't make much difference even if we are at our peak."

"But they have no idea what happened, so we can use other excuses to stall. Without a clear incentive, I don't believe they would take direct action."

Ding Sanjun nodded: "The path of cultivation is inherently fraught with thorns. For the sake of the sect, some risks are indeed necessary to take."

Chu Lingwei didn't say anything more.

Immediately, Lu Zongyan ordered the operation of the bewitching array to stop. Without exception, all the disciples collapsed to the ground, their eyes glazed over, still unable to distinguish between dream and reality.

An elder immediately gave each of them a Revitalizing Pill, and after a short while, the disciples gradually recovered.

Lu Zongyan quickly announced his decision, and no one dared to say a word against it.

The specific operation involves three Nascent Soul stage cultivators jointly casting a spell to plant a restriction in each of their minds: any act of copying, writing, or speaking that leaks or spreads the cultivation technique will trigger the restriction and result in immediate death.

Unless they can break the restriction someday, but that would probably be after the Nascent Soul stage, and this technique certainly can't be kept secret for that long.

"Just in case, have the Enforcement Hall investigate the outer sect thoroughly as well."

The cautious Lu Zongyan still issued an order, and then, together with two Nascent Soul stage elders, led the more than three hundred disciples into the main hall for seclusion, preparing to first place restrictions on these disciples who had already cultivated.

Other inner disciples were not allowed to leave the sect before the restriction was placed on them.